Demo Day Spotlight: Felix Eller and Hit The Town
For those who like to travel, you may often find yourself spending hours internet searching places to go and things to do in anticipation of your next trip – Googling “best local restaurants in (fill in the blank) city,” scrolling Yelp reviews, and trying to find unique hole-in-the-wall spots that haven’t yet gone viral on social media. One frequent traveler, Felix Eller, has been lucky enough to travel to places and cities all over the world, where he has friends who can show him the lay of the land, and create travel itineraries custom tailored for his interests. Now, with his new venture, Hit The Town, he’s making “traveling like a local” accessible to anyone looking to embark on their next adventure.
Hit The Town is an app that helps users find restaurants, nightlife, exercise groups, special interest groups, and more based on their individual interests and preferences, all while striving to support locally owned businesses in the area. The app also encourages users to walk, bike, or use other public transportation to earn rewards and discounts at participating businesses, with the goal of supporting the local economy while making environmentally conscious decisions.
This past spring, Felix presented his idea for Hit The Town at the da Vinci Center’s Demo Day, “Demo Day was an incredible experience to be part of. You have this group of people of all ages and backgrounds with their own passion that they are trying to bring to fruition or grow to improve the lives of others in one way or another. I’m honored to have been in a room with so many ambitious and creative people, who all want to see Richmond flourish and bloom into the best thing it can be.” His compelling pitch earned him the Judges Choice Award in the Innovative Ideas category, “Hit The Town is an innovative approach to travel. Felix did a fantastic job at Demo Day of clearly defining the problem he wants to solve and telling a compelling story that resonated with the audience and judges. I’m so excited to see this concept grow, and cannot wait to be able to use Hit The Town for myself!” said Ashley Wenger, the da Vinci Center’s Program Manager.
Now, Felix’s aim is to build a business for the people, by the people. That’s why he’s chosen to crowdfund for his app, so that the platform remains free and accessible to the communities it’s created for. He is trying to reach a goal of $150,000 in donations by June 13th to be able to release the first beta version of Hit The Town in Richmond, Virginia, this summer, and release the fully developed app in August!
To learn more about Hit The Town and be the first to know about the app’s release, follow Hit The Town on Instagram! You can also support Hit The Town by donating to the campaign.